


It Started with a Whisper

by DonKoogrr



Series: Hey Sugar Show Me All Your Love [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M, Prologue, The Cookie Incident
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-05
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-04-18 14:57:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14215629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DonKoogrr/pseuds/DonKoogrr
Summary: A prologue toEverybody Talks (Too Much)prompted/inspired/enabled by Miray!Tobirama had no idea Madara was working late, he swears.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Blue is a bad colour](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14033244) by [dahtwitchi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dahtwitchi/pseuds/dahtwitchi). 



It starts like this.

A war has ended and a village is being built, but that doesn't stop the nightmares of bloody fields and family lost. Tobirama makes his way to the nearly empty administration center that was already being referred to as the 'Tower'. The half moon is so high that it's beginning to set, the dawn is mere hours away.

His dreams are too full of small bodies. He forces his senses to deaden, to let him pretend he is not surrounded by a clan that was once his worst enemy. His house is too quiet without his brother's presence, now sleeping peacefully with his new wife.

It would be a waste to spend more time staring at a ceiling and seeing nothing. There is a trade agreement on Hashirama's desk that will likely be ignored if he doesn't look it over. His brother is currently preoccupied with married life and Tobirama was determined not to let the newly named Konohagakure suffer for it. Too much blood had been shed for this venture to be allowed to fail.

His little brothers follow him up the stairs, memories of their laughter dance along the edges of his lantern's light. 

He doesn't notice the low light from under the office door.

It swings open at a touch and Tobirama freezes.

Uchiha Madara sits at Hashirama's desk, his mass of hair pulled into a sloppy ponytail that gives his face an off-balanced look. His startled eyes are wide and already spinning into the sharingan at Tobirama's abrupt entrance. The man's mouth is comically full, with crumbs dusting his lips and a half-eaten cookie in one hand. A plate of more treats sits nearby, beside his own lantern.

There is silence between them.

Something bubbles up from within Tobirama's chest and he is too surprised to stop himself from laughing. The force of the unexpected hysterics makes him sway and he leans against the door-frame to keep himself upright. Madara is choking now, trying to swallow and stand and do _something_ all at once. The flailing only serves to draw more mirth from Tobirama as he gives up and slides down the doorway, carefully placing his lantern on the floor so he doesn't accidentally drop it. He is doubled over, utterly lost in a way he hasn't been in _years_ , long before Kawarama's tiny body had been buried.

Madara grabs his shoulder and drags him into the office before slamming the door, looking utterly frazzled. The pure humanity of one of his most dangerous opponents only sends Tobirama into further chuckles. The muscles of his cheeks hurt from the unusual strain. The Uchiha is glaring at him with a mixture of anger and disbelief as he waits for the laughter to subside. 

" _You saw nothing, Senju._" The hissed words nearly set him off again, but he manages to restrain himself. Tobirama nods, not trusting in his ability to speak quite yet. Madara sends a sharingan-powered glare his way before stalking back to the desk, packing up his things with vicious embarrassment.

"I swear, Senju. I will _gut you_ if this gets out. Your _idiot brother_ is going to be too distracted to look over the trade agreement from Iron Country; I'm just making sure this village doesn't fall apart!" He gives Tobirama one final glower and stomps out the door. 

Tobirama waits a few minutes before getting to his feet. A quick check of Hashirama's desk shows that Madara had indeed dealt with the paperwork the Senju had been expecting to do. He brushes some forgotten crumbs off the folders and begins to make his own trek back to his house. The unexpected encounter had left him strangely tired.

The shadows don't cling to his mind so easily. Itama and Kawarama don't tease him anymore. His bed is more inviting that it has been since he'd moved out of his brother's house.

He sleeps.

\-----

The next morning has him in better spirits than he can easily recall. Tobirama attributes the sensation to finally getting a decent rest and makes his way to the Hokage's Tower. 

He stops at a small shop near his house to buy a bento for his lunch. The cheap package of lemon tea cookies is an impulse buy. Leaving the package in one of the drawers of Madara's desk is less of an impulse, but the act fills him with deep amusement.

The Uchiha glares suspiciously at him when they pass in the halls.

\-----

A week later he wears a henge and buys a box of iced sugar cookies from a bakery. They are hidden in one of Madara's supply cabinets. Madara gives him a flat look next time they meet, but there are crumbs on his paperwork.

\-----

Several months pass and the requirements for young ninja to graduate are finally set. Tobirama sneaks in a cake and leaves it plainly on the other man's desk. There's frosting on it, congratulating him on graduating to Genin.

Madara nearly gives the game away when he stalks down the hall and throws Tobirama's door open. The incensed man points at him in wordless rage before snarling and returning to his own office.

\-----

Tobirama's had his fun and Hashirama has told him to knock off whatever it is he's doing to upset Madara. He hadn't meant to absently buy a bag of candied ginger root.

He slips it into Madara's pocket while the man is distracted with Hashirama's latest foolishness.

\-----

He is in Grass finishing a diplomatic mission with the new Hidden Village there. A display of higashi at a local shop catches his eye and he wonders if Madara would enjoy them. He brings some back to Konoha and leaves it on the man's office chair.

\-----

He's dropping off a prettily tied bottle of konpeito when he wonders if he's going too far.

\-----

Madara corners him nearly half a year after the first incident, blocking his path to the door, staring at him with arms crossed over his chest. Feeling strangely disappointed, Tobirama simply hands him the bag of hard butterscotch candies and waits for the snarling lecture. He had enjoyed this game and the idea of Madara being angry at him for it brought an uncharacteristically honest dejection.

The Uchiha takes his time, opening the bag and examining the rum-colored sweets within it. Fingers scarred by fire and blades deftly pick one out and pop it into his mouth. His eyes meet Tobirama's challengingly.

"Are you _courting_ me, Senju?"

Tobirama blinks in surprise. He thinks over the past few months.

"I suppose I have been." 

Madara hums to himself, letting his eyes roam over Tobirama's body. The interest is both unsettling and exciting, and he returns the gesture with a new light in his eyes.

"Very well." Madara lifts the bag invitingly and lets the office door close behind him. "I suppose the polite thing to do would be to share these, hm?"

Tobirama shrugs and steps forward. He's never really pursued anyone before, let alone caught them. 

Madara grabs the hand reaching for the bag and pulls him close. Tobirama has just enough time to open his mouth, intent on asking what the Uchiha thinks he's doing, and then warm lips close over his own. Sweet butterscotch assaults his tastebuds and an arm around his waist steadies him as his legs suddenly grow weak. He moans helplessly into the kiss and is suddenly aware that he has _no idea_ what to do with his hands.

Madara pulls away with a deep chuckle, seeming to be very amused by the stunned expression on Tobirama's face. The albino has a moment of realization that there is now candy in his mouth before his eyes lock onto the man standing before him. 

"Liked that, did you?" Madara withdraws another candy from the bag and makes a show of slipping it past his lips. Tobirama can't look away.

"Let's see how sweet you are, Senju..."

\-----

It ends like this.

Two men in a Tower discovering one another leads to a joke that turns into a confession.

A war is over and a village has been built and that will never stop the nightmares, but there is a chance for something else, now. There is a growing affection and a shy desire that can withstand those dreams. 

It is sometimes painful.

It is often awkward.

It is always sweet.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Madara was just trying to be productive, dammit.
> 
> Somehow he got a boyfriend out of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is me with insomnia. You can tell because so many of my characters are actually getting the sleep I want. I'm trying to balance out the angst from Fiction with some angry fluffy Madara.

Madara stares tiredly at the hard-won trade agreement from Iron Country. A ninja village needed a steady supply of standardized ninja tools and with this contract Konoha would be set for at least five years. It is a pity that they could not convince the traders to work exclusively with them, but at this point they will take what they can get.

It should really be Hashirama finalizing this project, but the man is newly married and Madara can't sleep. He can afford to be generous every so often.

His house is too quiet now anyway. Izuna only recently moved in with his intended bride and the ringing silence of a house meant for the family of the Clan Head is driving him to distraction.

Not the fun kind of distraction, either. Madara grouchily takes a cookie from the plate he'd brought with him and inelegantly shoves most of it into his mouth. It really shouldn't bother him so much that both Izuna and Hashirama currently have more of a sex life than he does. He doesn't resent them their happiness.

It's just been a while since he'd had someone of his own to look forward to after a long day. Even just a casual lover. Ending a war and building the village had left far too little time for any such pleasantries since his last relief partner had broken off their arrangement. 

He stares at the desk, seeing nothing as his thoughts wander.

The door swings open.

\-----

Flustered and furious, the Uchiha Clan Head stalks out of the Tower, cursing the day that Senju Tobirama had dared to be born. Of _all_ people who could have seen him in such an undignified light, it _would_ be Hashirama's little brat of a brother. Madara grinds his teeth as he returns to the empty house Hashirama had grown for him. 

The _insolence_ of the man! The temperamental Uchiha kicks his sandals off savagely and drops his gathered things on the front room's low table. Still growling and cursing under his breath, he slams his bedroom door shut behind him and throws himself onto his rumpled bed, Tobirama's laughter echoing in his head as his face burns with humiliation.

The problem isn't _just_ that he'd been discovered enjoying a childish food and looking slovenly. His brows furrow as he reflects on the entire incident. With his sharingan having activated straight away, he could easily recall the shadowed grief on Tobirama's face as the door had opened. The younger Senju brother had been hiding it well, but the sharingan picks up _so_ much detail. What's more, he could have _sworn_ he had briefly sensed two additional chakra presences that had vanished as soon as Tobirama had begun to laugh at Madara's misfortune.

The irritating little shit. He's lucky he has a pretty face, otherwise someone would surely have killed him off by now.

Madara groans at himself even as the thought passes through his head. It really _has_ been too long if the memory of Tobirama's laughing face is drawing his interest. He really shouldn't be surprised that the man acts human every once in a while; despite his seemingly nonexistent emotional depth, Tobirama _is_ Hashirama's brother. 

\-----

There is a package of cheap 'lemon-flavored' cookies in his second left hand drawer. He glares at it, tempted to use Amaterasu on the offensively bright colored gift.

It is entirely possible that Hashirama or Izuna sneaked them into his office for their own amusement. It's a very slight chance, but it's there. They would be the only two people both familiar enough with both Tower security and his own personal traps to safely deliver such a ludicrous thing.

Unlike Senju Tobirama, who would undoubtedly be talented enough to break into his office but for whom it would be entirely out of character to do so.

He checks the package over, finding no hidden traps or signs of tampering.

He eats them while trying to find a polite way to write 'Fuck you, Hyuuga' into the village's correspondence with the clan. They taste artificial but it's not in his nature to let food go to waste.

\-----

Madara has to search his own memory when he finds the box of sugar cookies stashed in his supply cupboard. The packaging is from his preferred bakery and he _had_ been considering treating himself lately. Again, no traps or tampering are apparent. It is just a small pastry box sitting innocently alongside his extra scrolls and ink.

He would have assumed that Izuna had been the culprit if not for the color of the icing. He very much doubts that his brother would have chosen that particular shade of blue.

They are delicious.

\-----

Weeks later he is still fuming about the academy graduation exams. He had agreed that some standardization would be needed to train soldiers who could work together on a fundamental level regardless of clan affiliation. He just didn't much care for that arrogant Senju so casually passing around his list of his own invented jutsu for consideration. Madara had wanted to include at least one elemental jutsu from each student, but that had been shot down. Sure, his clan teaches Fire Release to its children early and yes they'd have that as an advantage, but only until other clans stepped up and started teaching their children better!

Elemental jutsu are _important_. He doesn't like the idea of leaving those lessons up to an individual Jounin Sensei.

Like every other ninja there, Madara had been eager to get his hands (and eyes) on the techniques created by Senju Tobirama's admittedly brilliant brain. It was _galling_ to see how many jutsu the man was so casually _giving away_. Even if it is only to the village, it is still unheard of for clans to not hoard their knowledge. That Tobirama was so disgustingly confident in his own abilities...It really pissed Madara off.

Still, he had dutifully learned the 'Academy Three' along with the other clan leaders so he could pass the knowledge on to the academy age Uchiha children.

He should have paid more attention to that glint in Tobirama's eyes.

The small cake was sitting innocently on his desk as if it belonged there. A single glance at the congratulatory message at his genin promotion written in gaily colored frosting sent him seething down the hallway, terrifying everyone in his way. He burst into the offender's office and raises a finger, fully prepared to unleash an entire diatribe of anger, when he realizes that there are too many witnesses around for him to begin shouting about receiving a _cake_. 

The confused innocence on Tobirama's face doesn't fool him for a moment. He whirls away, storming back to his office to seal away the baked goods before Hashirama inevitably shows up to see what all the fuss is about.

Madara is certainly not going to _share_ such a mocking thing.

He eats it when he gets home, too tired to cook and not really wanting to deal with a crowded restaurant. It's decent enough.

\-----

"Look, Tobi. I don't know what it is you're doing to upset Madara so badly, but you need to knock it off. It's not good for anyone else in the Tower that gets caught in the crossfire and besides that! You two are both so precious to me...I really wish you would make more of an effort to get along.

Besides, this isn't like you. And I know you're the one driving him spare! You've been smiling more. You only do that when someone else is suffering!"

Madara narrows his eyes and backs away from the sound of Hashirama ranting at his brother. The action really irks at him; he doesn't need a defender, much less one willing to do so with such volume. Really, the idiot could have activated the privacy seals before jumping into the accusations. They are there for a _reason_.

He most definitely does not make note of the younger Senju's downcast countenance the next few days. He does not scour his office first thing every morning to make sure there are no more mocking sweets hidden away for him to find.

A bag of candied ginger root from the local apothecary finds its way into his pocket.

He is very careful to not appear upset when around his best friend.

\-----

Madara stares at the box of prettily made higashi that is obviously from Grass Country and wonders when Tobirama stopped being subtle. 

He buys a box of the local version on his way home and has a taste testing session.

\-----

The bright konpeito rattles in its jar as he catches it, the fluttering blue ribbon drawing his eye as he continues his one-sided game of toss. He should probably do something about this...thing. Tobirama seems to have infected every one of his thoughts recently. Exactly what game is the man playing at with these gifts? It had stopped feeling like mockery long ago.

If he didn't know better he would call this a clumsy attempt at currying favor.

He frowns at the thought and pulls the cork from the bottle, tapping a few of the light candies into his palm. His mind drifts back to that first night in Hashirama's office. The quiet despair that had been weighing down the younger man has lifted in these past months, leaving the man seeming strangely buoyant. Not enough for anyone to casually note a difference, but the sharingan's properties made registering such a thing easy. It reminds him of how brightly Hashirama's brother had laughed that night.

After so long, Madara can admit to himself that seeing Tobirama in such a human way had been attractive.

He crunches down on the fragile candy, letting the taste of sugar fill his mouth.

\-----

Madara has to pinch his arm to keep from laughing at the surprised and then disgruntled look on Tobirama's face as he finally catches the man in the act. The unconscious pout on his face as he hands over the latest surprise and keeps his gaze lowered like a child awaiting punishment is such a change from his usually icy expression that Madara can't help but play it up.

Until he opens the small bag and hears the pieces click together in his head. 

Uchiha Tajima rarely spoke of Madara and Izuna's mother and their own recollections tended to be fuzzy, but he can clearly recall that his father had always left a wrapped piece of butterscotch candy on her shrine. 

He had never tried them himself and it is with great care that he selects one. The taste is warm and smooth, rolling over his tongue in a gentle wave of flavor.

"Are you _courting_ me, Senju?"

The length of the pause as Tobirama seems to consider the possibility draws Madara's eyebrows up in surprise. Had this foolish Senju not even realized what his actions were? Exactly how emotionally repressed can one person be? It indeed seems to be the case despite the man's conspicuous genius as he finally answers, slightly stunned at his own conclusion.

"I suppose I have been."

Madara's tongue plays with the sweet candy as he looks over the man before him. Tobirama is...pretty. Some others would say strong, handsome, exotic, or fit if they wanted to be flattering, but Madara sees him and thinks of laughter from sorrow and a pout at having his fun interrupted.

There is potential.

He wonders what Tobirama sees as he rakes those pretty red eyes over his body in return.

"Very well."

Madara holds out the bag and draws further into the office, letting the door close behind him. He sees no reason to wait; they are both adults and they both want. Surely an arrangement between them can be made. For now, though, Madara will settle for something quick and dirty, hopefully on his own desk. Or under it. He can negotiate.

"I suppose the polite thing to do would be to share these, hm?"

The Senju rolls his shoulders and actually moves to take a candy from the bag. _Honestly_. Has the man never flirted before in his life? Madara practically gift-wrapped the opportunity for him. _Senju._ They must all be thick.

He grabs the man and drags him into a kiss, determined to show him how things are supposed to work and...well. Madara's never had a partner whose knees _actually_ weaken from such a simple thing. The helplessly pleasured noise he draws from the Senju is also unexpected. As is the completely dazed expression on Tobirama's face when they part.

"Liked that, did you?"

The younger man follows every move he makes with gratifying intensity. Madara plucks another sweet from the bag and teasingly replaces the one he has just gifted to Tobirama. There's a curl of satisfaction in his belly as the man swallows helplessly. Oh yes, Madara has certainly found a responsive one to play with this time.

"Let's see how sweet you are, Senju..."

\-----

Madara pulls Tobirama's hair when pushing him against his office desk and immediately releases it. He is hardly promiscuous, but he knows that the noise the action had evoked had been one of pain rather than enjoyment. That in itself is not unusual, not everyone enjoys that bit of rough play, but it strikes him as odd that Tobirama tries to hide his dislike. He shifts away slightly to get a good look at the other man's face.

Tobirama is flushed and panting from being so thoroughly kissed. He stares back at Madara as if he doesn't understand-

"Why'd you stop?"

Madara gives him an unimpressed look.

"I can tell that hurt you, Senju. Do you hide your discomforts with all your lovers or am I just a special case?"

The words are meant to be in jest, but there is a ringing silence and Tobirama is not meeting his eyes. A well of irritation rises in Madara's chest. _Seriously?_ The problem is that he can easily imagine this surprisingly docile man stoically enduring unsatisfying encounters for the sake of a partner. The thought is _annoying_.

Tobirama mumbles something under his breath and Madara refocuses. "What was that?"

The Senju clears his throat. "I haven't... _had_ lovers. My looks do not fit many preferences."

That is...Madara stares at him, registering the flush of shame and embarrassment. He isn't sure where to start. 

"No one? _None?_ " The idea of a quickie fizzles away under the new information. Madara might be a bastard, but he isn't going to so casually approach someone's first time. He's never _been_ anyone's first. It's...a strangely heady thought.

If he were to pursue this relationship for however long it lasts... _he_ , Uchiha Madara, will be setting the standard for every one of Tobirama's future lovers. That is not something to be taken lightly. 

"Will that be a problem?" Suddenly, the occasional hesitance in Tobirama's touches and his complete inability to pick up on Madara's flirtatious cues make so much more sense. The other man is finally looking at him now, shoulders beginning to tense in anticipation of rejection.

Madara shakes his head. He can work with this. It will be new, but he finds himself quite enthralled with the idea.

"For me? No. This is going to be fun."


End file.
